DRIVING simulator isn’t the most popular genre outside of its fan base of gearheads.
That’s why there are two Forza series.
Forza is trying to bring in a whole new audience.
Horizon for casual players who want to drive bubble cars off a cliff, and Motorsport which gets into the nitty gritty of the real driving experience.
The upcoming Forza Motorsport is trying to pull more casual players into its web, while keeping the hardcore players engaged.
Instead, it’s been made into what developer Turn 10 is calling “a CaRPG”.
Usually in driving games you have to race against faster cars and better drivers as you advance through your career.
But Motorsport makes the experience more immediate, as rivals are more accurately matched to your skill level.
You’re encouraged to change up and replace every part of your car and make it truly your own.
This gives you a sense of progression, a reason to master each track, and a sense of ownership over your cars.
The main races have been made into a big event, and you have to practice before the main event like real drivers.
If you start out at the back, you won’t get rubber-banded to the front, in the same way that coming out in front won’t see other drivers on your tail.
Essentially, the AI doesn’t ‘cheat’. Your results are based on your skill.
Even in single-player, the AI is designed on real players’ driving styles and lap times, giving you a more realistic competition.
During our hands-on time with the game, what we saw looked excellent.
You can feel the shifting weight of the cars, and the accuracy of the handling.
It runs in native 4K and at 60fps on the Xbox Series X, and has dynamic weather and time of day.
This means you might have to fine-tune your car to deal with the differing conditions of the track.
Not only this but it will continue to be supported after release with new cars and tracks dropped periodically after launch.
We’re excited to see more when Forza Motorsport launches on Xbox and PC on October 10.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
